


Bird in a Cage

by silailo



Category: Code:Realize～創世の姫君～ | Code:Realize ~Sousei no Himegimi~ | Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Anime)
Genre: Friendship/Love, Gen, Introspection, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23677060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silailo/pseuds/silailo
Summary: Cardia remembers her life in the abandoned mansion and her dream to someday join the outside world.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Bird in a Cage

**Author's Note:**

> I've only seen the anime version of this series, so I apologize for any inconsistencies with canon. I also wanted to tag this as Cardia/Lupin since there are _hints_ of "something," but since this takes place sort of early in the (anime) storyline, the romance...wouldn't quite be there yet? Hence the friendship/love and gen tags. *shrug* Make of it what you will.

The sweet, lilting song caught her ear and she stopped outside the door. Cardia paused and listened with wonder. She nudged the door open and light spilled over her in a warm wave.

The room contained shelves lined with numerous books, hinting at its purpose as a library. Comfortable chairs and couches were placed throughout, but an ornate birdcage stood nearest the windows that looked out over the manicured estate grounds. One of the windows had been left open to allow fresh air to circulate in the room.

The cage had been fashioned to resemble a beautiful mansion, but it wasn’t the intricate craftsmanship that held Cardia’s attention. A small bird with a red and white face and streaks of yellow on its wings sat perched in the cage, chirping out a little song as it flitted from one end of the cage to the other. Every so often it would hop to a little bowl of seed and partake of a snack before returning to its melody. It appeared more interested in its food than the stranger who now stood before it.

Cardia watched with curiosity. She hadn’t known there was a bird in this house. There were many rooms that she had yet to explore or even know about. Although she had been permitted to wander as she pleased, she hesitated to do so for fear of wandering into forbidden places. It stemmed from her time at the abandoned mansion, where straying too far from home had proven near-fatal for her—and completely fatal for others.

The little bird continued its song, at times looking toward the window. Cardia’s soul wilted. The birdcage’s design reminded her of her old home, except for the bars, but the abandoned mansion might as well have had bars. She wondered… Can a house be a cage?

Cardia’s memories drew her back to the past. The cold, the dark, the emptiness… Total and absolute silence engulfed her in loneliness and endless waiting. She’d kept the curtains drawn to deter prying eyes, smothering the sunlight and shutting out humanity. They did not want her, and the world was not made for someone like her, and so she’d created her own world on the inside, waiting…hoping…

She’d spent countless hours alone. Her favorite activity had been thumbing through the old tomes in the library, gazing upon engravings of exotic animals and exploring tales of faraway places. In this mansion that had become a self-imposed cage, she had dreamed of a wider world just beyond the windowpanes. On days when she felt bold enough to open the curtains, she’d pressed her hand to the glass to feel the warmth of the sun, the planet’s closest star—a _star_ , she’d discovered, the same as those in the night sky. The books had said as much. At night, she stole to the rooftop to see the galaxy’s glorious display, a universe so vast she couldn’t comprehend it. She’d wanted to touch that universe, to feel the pulse of life under her fingers, and be swept away in the mysterious expanse.

How long would she await her father? Would she wait until her death? _Could_ she die? Cardia had toyed with the idea, but… Something within her had struggled, a feeling that grew from a spark, to a flame, to a wildfire. It burned hot and bright in her breast, and she was certain it was not the Horologium embedded in her flesh. No… It was something apart from her physical self.

 _Survive. Survive._ The words had come to her, pressing against the hopelessness that threatened to devour her. But it had been so very difficult. The battle wearied her. Each day she struggled to drag herself from sleep to greet the world—her small world. Her cage of walls and windows. Quarantined like a plague. Often the fire in her soul dimmed to a sputtering flame, only to be renewed when she dared to venture forth beyond her cage. She’d heard the birds in the trees, saw the flash of their wings as they flew about unfettered and unconcerned. What did the world look like from up there? The question nibbled at the edges of her mind.

As the months dragged, so did her spirits, and the flame weakened until it became nothing more than glowing coals. The world had become distant. The chill and silence descended, and the cage shrunk around her.

_Open the door._

Cardia lifted the little bar in the lock, and the birdcage door opened with a squeak.

The bird seemed to sense the opening and hopped toward it. It titled its head from side to side, gave a warble, and flew out to land briefly on Cardia’s forearm. She gasped, but before she could react further, the bird exited through the open window where it vanished among the trees.

Cardia glanced back at the empty cage. She stood frozen as realization dawned on her. She had acted on her own and freed a creature she viewed as similar to herself, but…had it been her decision to make? Someone had owned that bird and now it was gone.

An emotion lodged in her chest like a stone. What would happen when someone noticed the bird was missing? Would they be upset? But the bird was free now, and Cardia felt a certain level of satisfaction knowing that. But then she also felt…dismayed—afraid, even, like she had broken the rules and would soon be punished. She had been “punished” at times for leaving her personal cage when people from the village found out, but now…she refused that old prison. And she refused to see others caged in the same manner.

Cardia moved to the window and saw the bird on the branch of a nearby tree, singing the song of its kind. How much sweeter the melody seemed now. She saw other birds join their comrade in the symphony of nature, and a smile touched her lips. She could feel it now, that pulse of life she’d dreamed about not so long ago.

“I had wondered where you went off to,” said a voice behind her.

Startled, Cardia whirled around to find Lupin standing in the doorway. How long had he been standing there?

She had trouble finding her voice. “I.. I just…”

He strode toward her and regarded the empty birdcage. “Great minds think alike,” he said.

Cardia blinked. “Great minds…?”

“I had also considered freeing that poor creature, only I didn’t have the audacity to annoy Saint.”

So, the bird belonged to the master of the house? Her chest tightened with cold uncertainty. “Will he be angry?”

Lupin laughed. “No, not if it’s you.”

Cardia’s cheeks warmed. She liked the sound of his laughter.

“I hate nothing more than prison bars,” said Lupin. “I know what it’s like to be behind them.” He flashed a wide grin. “I could never stay behind bars, so I always escaped!”

A giggle bubbled up from within Cardia. Now she understood him, but best of all, he understood _her_. Perhaps in some ways they were alike, and this realization offered a breath of life to the dying coals of her fighting spirit. She felt the spark, and then the rising flame. She fixed a stare on Lupin.

Lupin’s grin dropped, and color bloomed on his cheeks. “Cardia…?”

She looked at him intently. Although he liked to think that he had “stolen” her like a treasure, in truth she believed he had released her from a cage, just as she had done for the bird. Granted, he’d had some help, but he had been the one to unlock the door. If it hadn’t been for him, she’d be in the queen’s possession, having gone from one cage to another.

Lupin donned a charming smile. “Perhaps we ought to join our feathered friend and go for a stroll outside?” he offered. “He could introduce us to some of his new comrades.”

Cardia brightened at his kind words. “That sounds wonderful. Can the others come, too? I want the birds to see my new friends as well.”

Lupin once again gave that jovial laugh she liked to hear. “Of course! We are a flock, after all. It’s only natural that we should be together.”

Tears of happiness welled in Cardia’s eyes.


End file.
